Kung Fu Panda: Getting To Be A Dragon Mixed With A Wolf
by 4fireking
Summary: Po is sent on a mission with a white wolf named Tem. His powers are the opposite of Po's and he works hard to prove himself to be a valuable warrior. There's just two problems about him: his brother who wants to destroy the Jade Palace and his dislike of Po.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda

 **Thank you Cookie M 2012 for your editing this chapter and your advice on what to write. Hopefully the rest of the story can be finished with your help.**

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Po was sitting in his noodle shop home in his underwear because he was taking a day off from Shifu and the Furious Five. His ears felt like they were on fire and his throat was so dry he could do nothing with it but cough. This would be worse if it didn't mean he would get to play with his dolls.

The shop was open but Po's goose father was doing the cooking by himself. What the noodle shop was is a clean place where people feel at home, Po's room on the other hand was dirty.

Suddenly, Po heard a sound coming from the bottom floor of the noodle shop. He looked out to see Tigress at the door with his father Mr. Goose greeting her.

The sun was reflecting her fur. The only part of her protected from the sun was the red vest she was wearing. She used to wear a yellow Martial Arts shirt but she changed it.

Po couldn't make out most of the words, but his face was already burning up. And it wasn't to do with his fatigue state; it was what his dad was like. He's probably asking her about dating him, or something along the lines of searching for a mate.

"Your son and I are not together romantically Mr. Ping," Tigress smiled down at the goose, feeling sorry about the saddened face upon him. "I'm here for a more..."

"Now now Tigress, I may never have had the chance to find love, but I have experienced it with an old friend of mine. If only she didn't move far away before I could grow to be the goose I am today..."

Tigress tried to care about his story but she still moved past the goose to enter Po's room. He was goofing off when he should be sleeping. Tigress had to get his attention or she would come out as creepy to him.

" Po I'm here." She heard the ground shake as her big friend moved around to try to hide something. " Can I come in?"

The door creaked open by Po opening the door. Tigress could see he was trying to look normal but he had an action figure of Mantis sticking to his face.

" I permit you to come in."

She raised an eyebrow to Po's choice of wording. Being her was pertinent to her. Being the strong minded and polite girl she was she stood down on her legs and looked at Po trying to do the same, but he was a clumsy oaf at the moment. Her legs were folded with her knees which didn't bother her unlike Po who looked like his body fat was crushing his leg.

" Po, Master Shifu wants you to know when you come back there is a mission he has for you."

"Awesome! Where are we going?"

"It's not 'we' this time Po. I'm not going."

"Oh well that's disappointing... what do the others have to say?"

"Nothing. They aren't going either."

"Aw man is this a solo mission?"

"No, you'll have someone going with you. They're waiting for you in the Palace."

"Who is it?"

"You'll see when you get up there. Now come on."

Po and Tigress walked outside to walk to the Jade Palace. It was against his father's rules though to leave without helping him with the noodles one last time. Tigress couldn't keep a voice inside her that could make her wait for Po. Eventually, she walked ahead of him to get to the Jade Palace. Po managed to catch up to her by rolling through the streets like those dumplings he can't hold in his chopsticks.

Tigress didn't apologize for moving on ahead of Po and he didn't bring up how hard it was to keep up with her after how fast she was moving. Tigress could get up the Jade Palace in only five steps. First she stood just below the first step. With one twist of her body with her paws extended she jumped over twenty steps. After that amazing leap she raised her legs and jumped to another twenty steps.

Po on the bottom only had one concern and that was climbing up those stairs. Tigress mastered many skills through years of rigorous training, some Po never had the ability to know. He just knew he had to walk up those stairs. After an arduous journey of walking up more stairs than ever because ever time he climbed up stairs they felt like they were taking longer he sank to the ground as he reached the top of the steps, outside the Hall of Heroes.

Tigress walked out of the Hall of Heroes with a tray of Po's favorite food. She wasn't just going to hand it to him because that wouldn't help him. It was piping hot in the tray, just the way Po likes it. Like all food Po could smell the sweet aroma of it. He grabbed for it, but Tigress squashed his chubby arm with her fierce legs.

" No Po." She was pulling her hands away as Po lost the energy to keep his head off the ground. " The mission has to begin and we all know you eat too long and too loud."

Po surprisingly just got up on the ground without making a sneak attack for the food and walked to the mission area.

He rudely pushed the door open using his body fat which peeved Shifu. Another person was in the temple looking at Po while Po couldn't see him because he was in the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you Cookie M 2012 for editing this chapter for me. It took some time out of your busy schedule. I'm sorry for that and I hope I can make it up to you for it. And thank you viewers for encouraging me to write this second chapter.**

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When Po noticed Shifu, he shifted uncomfortably once he finished bowing, and mumbled 'Master' at the same time as Tigress did. Without a shadow of doubt, although many events have brought the two pandas together, there was still tension between the two. Not out of disagreement in teaching, but more out of Po's... unwise actions.

" Po, I have a special mission for you and it will inquire..." The one hiding in the shadows walked out. Po was scared, it was a white wolf. " Your partner for this mission Tem."

Po didn't see many wolves in the valley except for bandits. He took a ten second stare at Po and then he just walked out of the palace.

" The Dragon Warrior? Walk with me warrior so that I may tell you with no distractions why I need your help."

Po was obligated to go with him since he had a mission with the wolf. What he hated though was how much walking the wolf did just to have him sit down in a meditation position on the ground.

" When you first defeated Tai Lung I thought things would get better in my village, but all your heroism has done is make my peoples' sanity fragile."

Po gestured to Tigress asking her what to do now. He heard what happened in the wolfs village but he was too stubborn to think of an idea for it.

She made a gesture that he should follow the wolf.

" Do you need the help of a Dragon Warrior...I will be there."

Po tried impressing the wolf with fast martial art moves and cheesy sounds to show how serious he was about Kung fu. The wolf looked unimpressed, only moving his head a small way before deciding to just walk back to his village.

" Come with me. You only get to say or ask three things on our road there."

Po was stupefied by what the wolf was asking him to do. Tigress knew he didn't have the feats of knowing when to stay quiet. She specialized though in reading what people were going to say before they say it.

Po and Tigress had a lot to think about while walking with Tem. Po realized how he always turns mistakes of his into helpful solutions like when he made dumplings too sticky he could use them to destroy killer machines. Tigress was rough on herself, training as hard as Tai Lung did but didn't become like him because she thought of Shifu as the father she didn't have.

She couldn't ask Po to do anything or plan a lunch because he eats everything meant for more people usually her. From the neck down he had a healthy fighting body mistaken for a flabby body and from the neck up he had his mouth open all the time.

Tigress and Po were stopped by Tem after hours of walking in silence. What he showed them was a black flag with slanted red eyes on the road to a town covered in red paint. Tigress knew she was needed, she even begged Master Shifu to tag along with Po to lessen his burdens just like she did when he was escorting a princess.

Tem showed him the first person whose mind was fragile: a white female wolf biting her claws while holding an eye with dried blood underneath it.

Po did what he did best, try to make her laugh. He took out two dumplings from his only pair of shorts and took a deep breath with his nostrils. His breathing was strong enough to move the dumplings above the ground in a circle until he ate them whole. His attempt to be funny didn't work.

Tem helped her move to a safer area, having to stop her a few times because fights broke out when wolves ran out attacking wolves who couldn't fight back. Tem didn't help either of them, he told them both they should treat each other better as members of their own kind.

Po being the Dragon Warrior felt he was the one who had to stop these wolves from attacking each other before they broke something or worse themselves.

" Don't make me use my Wuxi Finger Hold on you." Po said to the two wolves fighting. " Stop fighting with each other."

They of course just ran back into the building making more fighting sounds.

" You can't change people from what their doing just because you ask them too. If things aren't restored they'll just stay that way," said Tem.

Po was only a little worried what Tem said about his heroism making the minds of these wolves fragile might be true. He walked by two black wolves taking away four white wolves in handcuffs.

This time it was Tem who approached the wolves trying to break them up.

" Your minds have been so fragile you miss the part where you shouldn't be arresting wolves who have done nothing wrong," he said.

One of the black wolves snickered at Tem. " We just have questions for these wolves. You shouldn't be involved in our questions."

Tem used his own move involving chi. He slide his left paw into the dirt making the two wolves freeze. With his fangs he chewed off the handcuffs of all four wolves. It seemed ridiculous to see who was the bad guy out of those six wolves but if they did anything bad Tem would catch them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Cookie M 2012 for helping me write this chapter. She helped me fix beta mistakes I made while writing the story and helped me carry on this story with the writing. I hope this chapter that almost reached my standards of words excites you wonderful readers.**

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" This is my village and prosperity in it is going badly. It is bad. Bad, bad, bad, bad, and if I didn't mention it enough...bad." Tem said walking away from the spot where he freed four wolves.

Tigress was walking in the back seeing white wolves scratching the walls of buildings, chewing on their own tails until pink bumps came out, and sucking on their thumbs while rocking back and forth. Tigress could see an empty shell with no discovery in their eyes. Tigress wouldn't say in any way she would become like these wolves, but if Shifu hadn't adopted her from that orphanage she would never discover the magic of Kung fu.

Slowly everyone was becoming beasts like how Tigress almost became a monster. All she wanted was someone to love her and now she does. Nostalgia.

Tem lead Po and Tigress out of the town. Tigress was wondering what he was planning on doing.

Po was clueless on what was going on unlike Tigrss who had an understanding. He was looking around the town for something to eat. His scavenged looking lead him to a plate with food lying on a windowsill. Because Po thought with his stomach he didn't find that suspicious and walked up to the plate to eat it.

Po was stopped though by the wolf Tem from him chomping his teeth together in Po's ears just close enough for Po to freeze.

" I can hear what your trying to do from that ridiculous sound you make, panda." Tem walked down the path leading to the food. " If anyone should grab food it's someone who knows how the residents think."

He showed Po he could do backflips keeping his tail up and using his wolf strength to make it to the plate. Instead of picking the plate up with his hand he shattered it with his foot and caught the food in his mouth. Touching the plate triggered a trap where the alley was inflamed all over with burning fire. The wolf got out of the alley doing the same backflips he did before.

Po watched seeing that as an amazing gymnastic move but the wolf ruined his sandwich when he put it in his mouth. " The Dragon Warrior would be able to see through an obvious trap like that." He said.

Tem spat out something in the sandwich he didn't like. Po didn't like people who choose to be picky about food rather than appreciate its gift of life, spices, and beautiful mouthfuls of awesome nutrition... even if it was a sandwich.

The wolf went from eating to walking closer to Tigress. She was about to fend him off for getting to close to her, but he made sense of it turning around and pointing to a tree.

" There's a person I have to talk to over by that tree. Stay here and don't trust anyone in this village, not even me right now." Tem told them.

Tigress wasn't sure it was a good idea for him to leave her and Po just to follow something that could be a lie. She knew a lie was being told by her tail going side to side signifying her suspicion. She knew letting him walk away would be bad. That was a suspicion she had only taking a big surprise when a sheep walked up to him from behind the tree and hugged Tem.

" Who knew sheeps and wolves could be friends," Tigress said to herself leaving an icy silence after she uttered her words to a a level she could only hear.

" I let my emotions take control of me. I hurt two guard wolves." Tem said to the sheep.

" Anyone else would do the same thing for those wolves. Although you may just be causing chaos in this town instead of helping the wolves who live here." The sheep said.

Tem half-hoped those four wolves would come to this spot and tell him they were hard working wolves who were just taken away from the drunken power the two other wolves had.

He gave the person he would fight a million Dragon Warriors to prove he cared about her a big hug. Her intelligence and her wholesome hard work were the reasons he liked her. He noticed the tiger and panda looking at him.

She was his girlfriend whether people could believe it or not. Unlike most herbivore and predator relationships they didn't show many opposition for one another. She left though after Tem realized he kept the Dragon Warrior and his companion too long in this village.

" As you can see not many of the wolves here are what they used to be. This was once a village where everyone got along because we were all the same, shared fur and blood with one another, but now there is something we must find for my village."

A crocodile bandit was watching Tem, Tigress, and Po on a tree branch. This crocodile plundered from a lot of innocent animals who couldn't defend themselves. He was carrying their most precious pictures in a bag behind his back. He also had a golden tooth in his mouth.

He was alone for now but reporting the wolf and Dragon Warrior would please his leader.


	4. Chapter 4

**Cookie M 2012 helped edit this story but my editor was away from helping for a while after writing enough to post a chapter. I'm happy to get this far, I even got a preview of a fanfiction of Tai Lung fighting an OC. Thanks for listening**

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Tem reached a very dangerous cliff he knew he could only get through if Po and Tigress tied rope around their bodies. Tem took the lead through the gap, his claws helping him stick to the wall as he moved slowly.

Po was off balance. He fell a few times and if it wasn't for the rope holding him up he would be lost on a bottom of where crocodile bandits like to hang out or...worse.

Tigress easily walked through the gap. It could be only half as wide and her small toes could walk across it without her flesh touching the gravel. Unfortunately, her skills were on hold to help Po move his clumsy body through this tough walk.

Tem kept hearing pebbles falling from above and stampeding sounds also above them. It could be him being paranoid but he believed someone was after them.

Suddenly, an arrow was fired down the cliff and barely missed his nose. He had to move faster because untying his rope here would kill Po, but it also left him in a situation he could die in.

A shower of arrows fell down one at a time from the archers firing above. Tem punched the wall, a bulge of rock came out protecting him from the arrows. Po and Tigress leaped over to the top of the cliff ready to use kung fu to save the hiding Tem.

On the top of the cliff Tigress attacked two crocodiles with fury in her fists. Tigress was so caught up in the moment hearing Po cry for help snapped her back into the role of a helping friend. The Dragon Warrior crying for help was something she was more angry at Po then the crocodiles

When she ran to Po she saw him tied by rope around each limb. Her anger towards him came out of nowhere and now it turned to dread of what the crocodiles would do to Po. Standing above Po on a branch was a Crocodile with two katana's in two scabbards tied to his back, sharp teeth sticking out, a scar under his left eye, and a drawing of a skull head painted black with red eyes on his belly.

" I know your trying to tear me limb from limb...flabby arm and my one good punching arm...but when I think about what I want to eat I get stronger."

The crocodiles were surprised a panda could act fearless after they scared him with the trap they put him in.

Tigress expected Tem to show up and help her free Po now that the archers were gone but he didn't appear even after a minute of waiting in her kung fu stance.

She rolled her eyes after giving up on him. " Men...never trust them in perfect timing."

Tigress jumped into the rescue. She soared through the air before her tiger claws hit the jaw of one of the crocodiles.

Po was a little embarrassed he looked like a buffoon tied by rope but he knew Tigress could handle these crocodile bandits and they could go back to being friends traveling on the road.

A crocodile with an axe slashed down at Tigress but she dodged by moving her back forward and delivering a fast kick to the crocodiles cheeks.

When that one went down two more attacked her with a slash of their axes. It would take more than crocodiles with their axes to harm Tigress, she grabbed the axes and destroyed them in her palms.

Po used his teeth to chew off the rope around his palm. After one arm was free he did a handstand that broke the other ropes off his hands. He used a sweep kick to knock two crocodiles on the floor. Once they fell Tigress knocked them out with one thrust at a time of her ferocious paws.

She was ready for more fighting, but Po distracted them bellowing his ridiculous kung fu noise before hitting them into trees with his big knuckles. The battle was over and there wasn't a crocodile groaning on the ground who would try something like that again; not the ones who had to feel the fists of the Dragon Warrior and one of the strongest members of the Furious Five.

Tem only came when only one bandit was left standing. He charged with his hands out and then make his tail spin before raising his feet and kicking the crocodile in its jaw.

Tigress watched in annoyance as Tem took down the last crocodile. His efforts didn't really do anything when she fought most of them.

" Although we came here to help you that doesn't excuse you from hiding from us when we needed your help," she said.

" I knew the last one taken down is the one whose chi I need to search," he said.

Before Tigress could ask him what he was talking about he raised his paws to the fallen crocodile. He was beaten and battered but not knocked out as he was able to groan when chi moved into his body. This chi looked like a baby crocodile playing ball with other crocodiles but changed into archery practice at a hut hometown. Tem made lots of sandy jade pictures appear showing that crocodiles life. He was good at this newfound chi skill, but eventually he stopped it.

" He doesn't work alone. There are other bandits who work for a tyrant I must find and destroy." Tem explained to Po and Tigress.

" Good. Thank you for sharing that with us. It's the three of us still going together but please help us when we fight a crocodile." Tigress said.

Tem tried to play along with this tiger but a kittycat was not the boss of him. He looked at the sky seeing how amazing it was. The clouds reflected the souls of people when he looked at them from their chi.

He had a funny idea he could use his reflexes on. He got in between Tigress and Po and made them hold their hands together. Tigress and Po shivered when Tem controlled their hands to hold each other.

" Tem..." Tigress noticed her hand holding Po's hand so she smacked it off with her tail. " That was funny but it also wasn't nice. Don't do that again."


	5. Chapter 5

**Cookie M 2012 helped edit this story for me. This is one of my favorite fight scenes of the story so far and it's thanks to being at the cottage I was able to write it. Hope I am right about the fight scene.**

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" Once I set sight on things that should be together there's nothing that can stop me," Tem confessed.

Tem could do more for Po and Tigress than just teaching them how their hearts flutter when their close. It seemed like a silly thing to blossom a relationship of a tiger and a panda, but he was consoled once of how even two people who are different could share a love bonding them for life.

Tem found a wolf with a mind so fragile it was screaming in pain when a shadow got in its face. Tem could only imagine the wolf leaving her home caused immense stress.

Tem was ashamed to use chi to find out if anyone was plaguing his wolf clan with bad chi but there wasn't a wolf that could explain why they were losing their minds.

Tem wanted to stay with the wolf a little longer, maybe just take her to a hospital so they could help her when he had no idea what he could do for her. He felt like a coward when he didn't do any of those things telling himself finding the cure of the village madness was more important then the life of one wolf.

Tem, Tigress, and Po defeated crocodiles but there was a new challenge yet to be faced by them, panthers. These panthers were wearing ninja clothes the color black much like their fur which helped them blend into the shadows. Their leader was a panther wearing warlord armor who carried a holster of two weapons, a katana and an axe.

The group were surprised they walked so long without Po complaining once about his belly. Maybe the presence of evil made him think more with his head instead of his stomach. Tem had some questions he wanted to ask Po pertaining to him being the Dragon Warrior.

"Do you study the world like a good Dragon Warrior. It is said the stars are filled with the greatest warriors who ever learned Kung Fu. Can you name one?"

"I know of Legendary Master Striking Venom Viper the ancestor of Viper. I know of staff weirder Wilderbeast Gallant the Unquitting Beast." One of my favorites was Le Chicken Gransiur. He was the one who taught all warriors you don't have to be big or poisonous to be strong with Kung Fu."

"Good. Do you think any of those warriors had a village suffering because of some curse that may affect me the closer we get to the source? No one wants to help a wolf in a time like this."

The panthers knew they were close to a village giving them no choice but to attack now. They had ample time to attack but they waited through the travelers having sorrow from some other kind of trouble. It almost made them not want to attack hearing what was happening to a poor wolfs villagers.

"Claws, claws, use your claws to scathe. Once they feel the despair of our claws they will lose their money. I am the shogun of the claws and a master of combat."

Three panthers used their strong legs to jump on the trees so they could leap towards Tigress. She was swift at attacking turning to them and kicking them in their parts of the bones that helped them move their arms.

"I wished those panthers no harm but I have failed to give them a path where they could hurt that tiger instead they were the ones who have gotten hurt. While they recover their bones and dignity I shall deal with this vixen myself."

The panther warlord jumped out of the woods leaving two panther warriors behind to care for the three injured ones. People thought Po made big thud's when he landed on the ground until his massive paws shook the ground where he fell. His attention was on Tigress glaring at her with his paw on his katana hilt.

"Warrior of orange and black stripes, what is your name? Telling me your name means you'll accept our duel and I shall remember your name when I cut off five of your wretched limbs."

It was Tigress's time to get in her martial arts stance as she let out a small huff of anger facing this man.

"My name is Tigress, orphan tiger raised by the great Master Shifu and fierce member of the Furious Five. I accept your duel but will not harm you too badly as I was trained to use kung fu to bring peace to the valley."

"Peace. Ever since I was born such a concept has never been spewed not even by pacifist farmers much less a tiger who fights."

The panther shogun charged towards Tigress slashing his katana at her. Tigress had to make a crane stance that helped her dodge the blade. She used both her paws to try disarming the shogun of his katana, but he was able to stop her arms with his right hand of armor.

Tigress punched through many armors of different strength throughout her training and battles as a member of the Furious Five; she couldn't punch through the armor as strong as the ground that keeps the heat of the Earth's core inside.

The shogun went from slashing his weapon to try cleaving it at her like a hatchet. He started trying to go straight through the middle of her head, but Tigress jumped so high she was in a glade of leaves from the trees far above the weapon.

The shogun awaited her to come down trying to aim for his head—the only place she could do any harm—only for his waiting to be long. He was growing increasingly frustrated.

"Hide if you want. Every one of my men you hurt…you shall receive the pain of sharp blade chopping into your bones. You're a pathetic cat."

He sheathed his katana in his holster as he reached for his axe. The moment his axe was unsheathed from his holster he threw it at the trees like a boomerang; branches and leaves rained on the ground but not a single drop of blood was spilling down.

"Tigress." Po said worried about the harm that could be inflicted on her. When the axe returned to the panther he was holding his head terrified there was no sight of Tigress. "Tigress!"

The panther warlord wasn't feeling any emotions of regret for the pain he caused the panda. Even if he knew Po was the Dragon Warrior his feelings meant less to him then the feelings of anger he felt from Tigress hurting his three panther thief followers.

"Warlord!" A familiar voice shouted.

He was attacked by the warrior of orange fur and black stripes as she blended in with the sun. As high as she was and as well planned as her strike was it helped her very little when he hit her with both his massive paws.

The force of his punch was match only by the sharp talons of his claws scratching Tigress before she fell to the ground. Her plan of attack had failed and if she couldn't get up he would finish her with his katana.

"Think of it Tigress. Think of your heart and your chi." Tem whispered as softly as a prayer hoping his words could unlock a strong power inside her.

The panther tried sticking his blade into Tigress while she was on the ground. He didn't know who or what got in the way of his blade but it was sent flying into the trunk of a tree. Tigress wasn't weak and helpless as well, radiating with jaded yellow colors out of her body.

"Tigress?" Po asked seeing her stand on her feet mighty and glowing with a new power Po didn't know she had and he was an encyclopedia on everything that made the Furious Five from their births to when he defeated Tai Lung, Kai, and that monster peacock who killed his mother.

"When I'm done with you I will make you tell me what makes you glow." The panther shogun said.

He tried reaching for his axe and raise it over his head, it was a mistake as the axe was obliterated by the strong rays of Tigress's new glow. The only thing the shogun had left to fight on par with Tigress was his strong armor no fighter has cracked.

"Strength and kung fu have no relevance to what you have discovered," said Tem acting as a teacher for Tigress even though he's never shown power like hers. "The only thing you have is your brain to tell you what your power can do for you."

Tigress pulled her paw all the way back as she steadied her stance for the right moment to hit the spot her eyes were focused on. Her target was a specific spot in the panther's armor.

"Tigress. That is the name I will paint on my scroll when I defeat you here and now. I am Yuiba shogun of the panther's and future emperor of the valley when no one dare stand against me. Farewell, Tigress orphan and kung fu tiger."

He banged his fists against Tigress's one paw. Their strikes were so powerful a strong aura was emanating from their fists until a sphere of chi was dilating increasing in size while also decreasing as fast as it grew in size.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cookie M 2012 helped me edit this chapter. I've been meaning to post this chapter like a few others but my schedule made it hard to find the time to.**

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Tigress's body moved like a firework sending Yuiba flying. At first it looked like he would hit a tree but Tigress pushed him over the greenery. When he was over the tree she stroked him in the armour, crushing the armour around him.

Yubai fell on the ground where he was instantly dragged away by the two panthers he didn't think could handle a fight against Tigress of the Furious Five. Not sending them really helped save his life.

Tem felt so bad for their leaders crippling defeat that he helped them with healing their leader. The panthers turned out to be scared of Tem because he was a wolf and they were just the toughest cats in Po's village next to the snow leopards.

"While I'm helping you do any of you two know of any strange places that have been causing multiple people to act a little crazy?"

"Come to think of it there was an extreme case of villagers replacing chicken eggs with rocks, graffiti on the walls caught red-handed to be the elderly and even responsible adults doing it, and animals tying themselves upside down mumbling some kind of gibberish about the storm with the golden finger."

This news was horrible to hear. Yet Tem wasn't feeling sorrow for the other animals who had a plight put on them, he only cared about the survival of his wolf race.

Tigress of course cared about what was happening with the people. Po was the only one of them crying seeing the pain stricken on Tigress's face and hearing more people was suffering.

Tem concealed any emotion on his face before walking ahead of Tigress and Po.

He walked far ahead long enough for his escorts to be away from his sight. He would only forgive them for this if their reasons of not catching up to him were agreeable.

He already made it to the village the panthers said was full of poor people who had bad things happen to their minds. When he arrived a bunny was biting on the head of a beaver and the beaver was laughing maniacally. Tem quickly kicked the bunny off the beaver's head. He didn't want to rescue the beaver but smack it on the head so the pain would sink in.

He could hear the loud and angry growls from Tigress seeing Tem hurt a poor animal just because their behavior didn't make any sense to him. She would hit him if Po wasn't there to help stop her from being aggressive.

Tigress didn't like how Tem was making people afraid of him. Every time he saw someone doing something stupid or unacceptable for that animal he leaped to their spot and roared with all his strength. They all flee from him, he wasn't solving anything or helping anyone.

"Why are you like this to others? You didn't harm a single wolf when it went out of control." Tigress asked Tem.

Tem felt awful now but he wasn't sentimental about Tigress seeing him hurt a poor animal. He swore to himself solemnly though he wouldn't hit them again.

A few moments of searching later Tem discovered there was no person who could tell him where they were last because they were all affected by the plight of their minds being damaged.

Tem was thinking of leaving this village because no one was treating them like a heartless or mindless robot. Tem didn't get to leave this village because Tigress saw something he didn't.

She got on all fours before leaping towards a wall and kicking through it. He could hear her snarls and crys of panic before animals were thrown out.

Po was frantic wondering if Tigress also lost her mind in this village. It was to his surprise though that a crossbow arrow was fired from a rabbit looking bandit at Po. Tem stopped it with a punch.

"These are assassins sent to kill us. I don't think they respect you as the Dragon Warrior, maybe some are hopeful they can be better than you, but it's probably because of me this is happening."

Tigress had her paws full fighting black clothes ninja rabbits with duel blades, chains connected to sickles, and spear in their small but strong hands. The way their eyes were eerily glowing Crimson was enough to scare Po.

Po was a little spooked, it reminded him of the time the Furious five fought the ghosts in the haunted house of Farnbon, but unlike that time there were more members and Po was a reader. Po did a cartwheel when the bunny with the chain sickle attacked him.

Tem and Tigress picked the same move to circle around the rabbits before swatting at the rabbits. In their positions and how hard they hit them the rabbits collided into the other. A rabbit with a chakram tried cutting Tigress at the back of her neck, but she kicked it with her foot.

She thought she made a good choice only for her to miss the rabbit firing an arrow at her. She was a strong warrior no doubt but the only way to save he did neck from the arrow would be if someone stopped it. With what were the greatest reflexes Po's ever seen Tem punched the arrow from the center shattering it.

Tigress owed him nothing because the moment he shattered the arrow she leaped forward and kicked the rabbit bowman. Tem moved lightning quick jumping into Po's big but not flabby belly so he could jump off and kick a rabbit with kunai's.

The rabbits were sprawled on the ground with the lights in their eyes out. Tem allowed Tigress to high five him if she chose to. The old Tigress would only take tough love from Master Shifu, but she gave in and gave Tem his high five.


	7. Chapter 7

**Cookie M 2012 helped edit this chapter for me. I hope the fight scene it's leading up to is to your liking.**

 **XXX**

Po was a little sad all the poor rabbits on the ground were hurt so much from his best friend and someone who was like a friend but not as close to as close to him as the Furious Five.

"These attacks have gone on long enough," Tem said grabbing the only conscious rabbit by the neck. "You're working for the wolf with grey fur aren't you? If he wants to take one of his own kind he picked the wrong day, I am trying to help our wolf kind."

Tem tried being a fierce wolf but he was crying accepting everyone didn't have courage like they once did. It was inside him to find answers no matter how brutal he treated the ones who might have information.

Tigress and Po hugged him together. Being hugged by Po felt like a marshmallow spooning him while Tigress felt like a bird scratching her nest. Their comfort made Tem feel better, but he had too much pride to admit that.

No one was in the right thinking to say anything to Tem or his new friends so they left. They travelled through a path with a waterfall in it and lots of carnivorous fish. Tigress had to help Po because he was close to falling in and having his feet eaten.

Tem helped lead them through a village of wildebeest tribesman wearing blue clothes and had blue paint all over their faces. Their hair was long and tussled. Although they try to be pacifists they carry weapons with them such as swords and shurikens.

Tem, Tigress, and Po finally reached a throne made of solidified black tar towering over a wildebeest with flaps of purple skin on his back and hourglass tattoo standing in a pond.

The wildebeest stepped out of the pond and walked to his gi. Tem, Tigress, and Po waited until he was ready to dry himself and put his gi on to talk to them.

" Hello strange travelers." The wildebeest said to the three when he was fully dressed. "I will want to fight one of you. Not a member of the Furious Five or the Dragon Warrior but the one who wants blood, a feral beast with sharp fangs."

Tem knew the wildebeest was talking about him.

He of course knew the reason why he wanted to fight a wolf and it was because of the feralness in their blood not to mention the pain his kind has inflicted on wildebeest's. He was up for a fight against this one.

Po was a pacifist some moments before a fight so he tried to stop Tem. Tigress also tried to stop him from fighting the wildebeest with a show of her paws. Tem dashed forward though and punched the wildebeest. He stopped his punch.

"You won't defeat me with a move such as that. I got a load of experience on how to break this arm of yours." The wildebeest said unamused.

Tem made him regret saying his move was back by jumping and kicking his cheek.

The wildebeest didn't flinch when the wolf kicked him in his cheek. He just looked annoyed at Tem. He didn't move though which gave Tem the chance to move back and then jump around until he found the perfect spot to back kick the wildebeest.

Tem was something else for the wildebeest. He wasn't the toughest opponent but there was this feeling of stress trying to beat him for the wildebeest.

Tigress was looking at the mistakes Tem was doing with his moves. He believed he could sneak off and attack in a way that would help him hurt the wildebeest and escape but really his moves were sloppy.

Po was cheering for Tem. To Po the wolf fighter was a new master in the making. He kept his paws down like a dog but leaped up and attacked in a flurry of punches.

Tem did a spin in the air followed by a kick to the wildebeest's face. The attacking made the wildebeest impatient as it finally landed a punch in Tem's leg.

Tem struggled to move after feeling pain as severe as that. He tried punching the wildebeest, but his cocked paw was blocked by the animals more brawny fist.

Tem was being kicked up and down with the wildebeest's brawny leg. If Tem was punched by his fist the feet would feel the same, hurt his tail so much the way he kept kicking.

His chance to fight back came when he feel upside down. He opened his mouth and bit the brawny arm of the wildebeest.

"Your fighting is unfair and unjust," the wildebeest said.

Tem felt his fighting was just fine being a wolf and fighting against a brawny wildebeest. His next step for fighting was letting go of the wildebeest as he vanished into the trees. Tem thought he could handle the wildebeest now with the element of surprise.

Tigress thought he was doing the same thing and she thought the wildebeest knew it too. She was wrong. Tem dangerously let himself fall from the tree facing the wildebeest.

Po was so excited. He knew Kung fu was the only option left between the two of them. Their battle started with Tem running only to have a punch delivered in his abdomen. He fought back jumping up and kicking the right elbow of the wildebeest.

The wildebeest elbowed him on his head. Tem kicked him in his shins next. This all happened while they were very close to her. It kind of looked like they were slow dancing in this fight. Tem and the wildebeest felt a warm feeling, so they jumped away.

"I'm glad your not the Dragon Warrior," the wildebeest said squeezing his arms to punch Tem. "He finds a way to use his mouth too much while you only use it to bite people. We could continue this fight, but I think you now deserve answers. The condition in all your kin and those of other villagers are from a parallel world."

"Like the spirit world Oogway is in?" Po asked.

"No, like a world where the brain accumulates a dark being taking away their individual personality and replacing it with mush. You don't have one enemy or the worlds way of harming the young and elderly, you have an army to face. If you bring me along I will help you."

Tem wasn't sure if the wildebeest was right in the head. He nearly left a scare on Tem's body if he punched him one more time and he seemed to be difficult to talk to. Tem only had one answer for him.

"Sure. We could use four strong animals for this mission. What's your name?"

"It's Ian."

"Wait. You're a wildebeest and your name is Ian?" Po asked, deep down he thought his name would be something more terrifying.

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Tigress knew Po would say something that would come out as hurtful so she moved her tail over his mouth.

"He's fine with your name," she said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Cookie M 2012 helped edit this chapter for me. I was inspired to write this chapter by playing Yakuza Kiwami.**

XXX

Tem, Ian, Tigress, and Po made a four sided box when they walked through the woods to find some way to stop this new world takeover of all the Valley. Tem was walking with Ian and Tigress walked behind Po since she could feel an attack coming.

Although Tigress fought many opponents with all kinds of weapons...she knew never to underestimate an opponent, unless it was Po before he fought Tai Lung. How they would attack could be from another world being more powerful than a simple martial artist, a dragon with a horn and wings strong enough to do so much irreparable damage. Her fists were shaking, her breath was getting hot, she knew a battle would ensue on their journey.

She was lead to a river said that no one can cross. It is said that even if you survive the constant swirling whirlpools in the deep depths of the water drowning anyone foolish enough to swim in it, stone soldiers were waiting on the other side.

Ian was the one who could help them get past the water, the statues would be a different issue. His hands started to turn blue like a scarf when he waved his hand in the sky. Something was swooping down from above.

"No way...he did!"Po squealed excitedly clapping his hands.

A brown scale dragon with a horn protruding from its nose appeared before the four martial artists. Tigress was the only one of the three not too stunned to talk.

"Where did you find a dragon?" She sounded calm for someone who found a dragon.

"My connection to this world gets stronger the closer I get to the gateway. While close like here I can talk to this Dragon and developed a friendship with the dragon." Ian explained to them.

Tem found that to be an interesting story. But when does he go from a pond to a river near a temple?

Po really wanted to get on the back of the dragon just like only a few heroes got to ride. Tigress was just sure it would work and she was glad although bewildered to be riding on a dragon.

The four of them rode in the dragon's back. The stone moving statues were attacked in an ambush of falling animal martial artists. Tem's claws broke through the face of one statue in one mighty punch.

Now all the statues spotted and went after Tem. He was backed up by Ian who landed right when they were near him and punched them with his brawny hands. The next thing Tem did was jump on the wildebeest's chest and jump towards a statue he destroyed with a mighty kick.

Tigress attacked with the glowing fist she used against the panther shogun. Her fist made a wave of rubble causing the statues to fall and break.

Po jumped down moving with the ferociousness of a kid on sugar rush. He broke through the heads and chests of statues one after the other. It was thanks to Tigress and Po the battle was won easily.

Tigress helped more using the technique she learned destroying the stone. She was close to Po the whole time as protecting the Dragon Warrior was more important than protecting the rogue wolf or silent wildebeest.

Inside the place they crossed sinking water to get to there were three dragon statues encompassing a giant swirling wormhole only Ian knew would take them to a different dimension.

The tattoo on Ian's body started to glow.

"This means we must not stay in the parallel world for too long or suffer grave consequences."

Tem and Ian jumped into the portal because they were the ones who didn't have the attention of the Valley on their hands. They jumped into a bridge of metal staircases with fire spewing smoke below.

Tem and Ian were disturbed by this area. Tem looked at the portal until Po and Tigress jumped through it. Tigress landed on her feet while Po spun around raising his hand choppers.

"You haven't explained what we are looking for. Where is this person or thing that is starting this epidemic of people losing their minds and how do we stop it?"

Ian didn't talk to Tigress. He ran straight ahead leaving Po and Tigress behind, but only being slightly ahead of Tem who chased after him.

Tigress was wondering why he couldn't just talk to her. Ian was suppose to be helping them save the Valley and a part of her thought his intentions were on that. After getting over that bafflement, she and Po ran after Tem and Ian.

Tem saw the writhing site of his mate in the parallel world. She was ghostly black and glowing red eyes in the field. The others didn't see it too. What Po thought staring at the ground was a food cart with a sign saying "all out of food" on it. It made him weep like a little girl who dropped her ice cream.

Tigress saw a young orange and black furred girl who wanted someone to adopt her, but she was shunned for her ferocity and birth age. She also saw a young girl jabbed in the chest by Tai Lung. She was the last one to be jabbed as Crane watched horrified to see her collapse.

Tigress wanted to see the face of whoever was ruling this parallel world so she could use some chi and punch him in the face. Her whiskers felt ablaze with how rapid and hot her breath was, it was like her whole body wanted to break through a wall.

They reached a thing no one in the Valley has seen nor heard of before, a human man. He was glowing orange, has yellow eyes, and jagged teeth. Tigress's ears folded down as her rage was evident but her fists were put down for good reasons. She was the one who dashed towards the monster and delivered a roundhouse kick to the face.

Tigress then focused her chi into a fist she rapidly punched into the glowing orange monster. The monster stopped standing around like a statue. He delivered a strong kick into Tigress's gut, felt more painful than a tree falling on her.

Po had time to catch Tigress before she hit the floor. She jumped over Po and then ran around him to fight the monster. She spinner her legs and delivered a kick to his face.

The beast made a grumbling noise before pushing Tigress away into Tem. The wolf caught her. The wolf glared at the beast, something told him only Tigress was allowed to fight it.

"Do not disappoint me Furious Five."

It wasn't like Tem didn't want to fight the beast himself; he wasn't afraid to fight the thing. He just had a strong feeling one person at a time had to fight these kinds of foes and Tigress fought him before anyone.

Tigress knew where to deliver the strongest blow. She accumulated chi into her fist and punched the beast in the spot. The beast was obliterated by the strength of her fist.


	9. Chapter 9

**Cookie M 2012 helped advise me on what I should do to help make the chapter more interesting. I'm also glad to finally update after a long hiatus.**

XXX

Before she delivered the punch she kicked him and did a few spins with her legs before that punch. Po was rubbing her back on a job well done. With the steps they took through the door, Tem and Ian, they made it to another beast like the one Tigress fought. This one was made of blue energy instead of orange and yellow.

Its face looked like a Salamander with eerie dark blue eyes glowering from its eye sockets. It had a knife of pure energy stuffed inside a part of its body. Tem stepped up to fight it, but Ian squeezed his right shoulder.

"Let me fight this one. Next one is purple, a accelerate being too fast for my slow legs. This one relies on strength and defence. I'm perfect as a candidate to fight it." Ian said.

Ian had a good point. It was all up to Ian now to face the thing glowing blue and beat it with everyone he had. He delivered a right punch with his hoof aiming at the things' nose. He missed from the thing twisting its body all the way to the left.

Tigress and Po looked at their bodies wondering if doing something like that was possible for them. Tem was cheering for his friend to win. Ian was punching strong but missing his opponent.

Tigress thought Ian was slow, but his punches were not lagging. In this kind of situation she might have difficulties too. Po was just enjoying all the fighting he was seeing between a wildebeest and a energy creature.

Ian delivered a stunning punch to the creatures face. It wasn't anything big or severe, and soon he was jabbed in his thought to be made of iron torso by the creature. Ian felt the right way for him to fight wasn't for him to keep making a big mess punching his opponent, but maybe he could block the punch and hit him back.

Ian instead was distracted by the sonic speed the thing moved around and started punching him. His bones felt weak, except his tail was still long and strong. He used his legs and delivered an uppercut. Po never knew a heavyweight fighter and a nimble fighter could be so close to beating each other the stakes were making him feel excited.

Tigress was happy to see Ian was more than just a big wildebeest. He could handle his own just as well as she did against that thing that fought like a beast. Tem was punching everywhere trying to imagine himself fighting the fast thing.

Ian and the thing were punching each other until one of them was on the brink of being punched off the floor. The thing was the loser there as it was defeated by a spin and a kick to the torso.

The rest of the group could move on to their next opponent.

This time is was Tem fighting the thing that was at the gate. This thing was the color blue and had a face like a falcon. It's arms were ginormous and its stance was that of a brawler. This would be a boxing match over a kung fu match.

The blue thing attacked first with a right hook punch delivered to Tem's face. Tem figuring out where the punch would go and moved out of the way before he could be hurt. His next move, a left punch to the blue thing.

The blue thing was hit but didn't look like it felt a thing. Tem tried the same punch again which ended with the blue thing punching him before his punch could make contact. Tem felt like he was bashed by a rock hitting his fist.

Po and Tigress couldn't use words to describe how much pain probably went in through Tem's nostrils. He was one lucky wolf to still be standing much less fighting.

"I must get through that door. I have...I have..." Tem felt the world was raining daisies for a moment and remembered the day he was coaxed. Coaxed, but happy with the way it turned out. He had a good girlfriend who just happened to be a sheep. "I have love!"

Po saw him thrust his fists that both blocked and refracted through the palms of his opponent. Tigress noticed how Tem hurt the knuckles of his opponent. Tem's next move was jumping high and doing a cartwheel spin to hurt the brawler.

Tem was only seconds faster than the brawler. His toenails helped scratch the brawler so hard that it vanished from the door. If he was only a second slower...the brawler would have broken his face and more importantly his protection against him.

The door opened...it was a trap leading to the strongest of the four. He was red in both body and a growing aura. He challenged Po to come fight him just using his finger gestures.

"Don't worry, guys," Po said feeling fast on his feet and strong in his fists. "This one is on me."

Po skipped towards the thing before delivering a right punch to its face. The thing blocked with an X cross of its arms.

Tigress felt this new fighter had strength, Tem was watching to see if Po lived up to his title Dragon Warrior, and Ian tried thinking back to his fight trying to find a way to help Po.

Po punched the thing leaving him wide open for a punch from the thing. And next thing he did, was use his toes to clutch Po's belt before throwing him down. Po felt like a piece of junk for falling for an attack like that. He had absolutely no way to attack that the fighter wouldn't be able to fight back.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda

 **This time the story was edited by Empressimperia. I hoped this author could help with the final bit of writing for the story but I might have to try writing it.  
**

XXX

There didn't seem to be any blow the Dragon Warrior could throw at this creature that it couldn't throw back. But they couldn't give up now. They were so close.

Po sure as hell wasn't giving up. No sooner he was on the ground he was back up again. He tried one more time, aiming a kick right at the creature's head, but it grabbed his ankle and threw the panda right back down.

Po rolled backwards until he was standing and glared at the creature. No, he definitely wasn't giving up. He was wising up. They needed a better plan. The glowing crimson creature stayed where it was, waiting for the next attack. For the time being, they had time.

Tigress was trembling slightly, trying to muster the words she wanted to say.

"You know what I love about you, Po…" She spoke softly enough that Po wouldn't hear. "You don't give up. So don't you dare do that now."

Tem and Ian gazed at her with interest. As the wolf looked deeply into her eyes, he saw a vision. A false memory of two cubs, one striped and one round, giggling at batting at the butterflies flapping just barely over their excited little heads.

Po's eyes widened slightly and he looked to Tigress. "Tigress, could remind me what Shifu said about punching an opponent in the sternum?"

"To not to." Tigress said her own eyes narrowing as she realized what he was getting at. "Not unless you want to stop their heart."

Po let out a cry as he charged at the creature again, aiming for the chest. The creature crossed its arms to block, so Po switched his aim to the groin. The creature lowered its block and paid dearly for its mistake as Po delivered a powerful punch to the sternum.

There was a crunch, and then a high-pitched shriek as the creature lost its glow before vanishing completely from the area.

The others were surprised. That creature was supposed to be the last and strongest of their four opponents, but the final exchange was over in two seconds.

Po whooped, even though his own surprise was apparent. "Woohoo! That was easy!"

"Too easy." Ian muttered as the final door opened.

The room was as sinister looking on the inside as any room causing a plague to poor wolves could be. The walls were adorned with paintings that only a sadist could love. Wolves cowered beneath their paws as a two legged creature bearing a cap and a grizzly beard looked upon their terror with laughter.

Tem's ears began to ring. He knew some of those wolves in the paintings, but that wasn't why he was angry. He knew exactly where the monster occupying this room was hiding. As he snarled through his teeth, his blazing eyes looked up at the black silhouette clinging to the ceiling.

Tem turned his eyes to Po. The Dragon Warrior was not the brightest lantern, but he could understand a simple command.

"Stand still. I'm going to jump off that excessive belly of yours."

Po frowned. He knew people liked to poke fun at him for being big, but that was mean. Nevertheless he thrust his stomach out and held still. Tem rebounded off of Po the way Tigress would, the feline notice with concern. The wolf wasn't playing nice, and his recklessness toward such a potentially powerful foe was bound to have consequences.

Tem reached the ceiling and slugged the silhouette in the face, dropping it like a swatted fly. The figure spun in midair and landed nimbly of its feet. They closed ranks around the animal.

It was a sheep they surrounded. A sheep of pure white with tattoos of strange symbols drawn all over his furry body. The creatures they'd fought before had borne no symbols, but the warriors were sure that those were no ordinary tattoos.

Tem's snarl deepened. This sheep's features were familiar.

They kept their distance, waiting for the sheep to strike first, and strike he did. Faster than any sheep they had encountered before, he sent Tem flying into a wall, dropping one of the paintings over the wolf. Tem ripped the evil image apart and got back to his feet. He wiped the blood from his mouth and stepped toward the mastermind. "Why did you do it, sheep?"

"You couldn't let her go, could you?" The sheep snarled hatefully. "Now all your kin will pay for your transgression."

Tem could not believe what he had just heard. All this suffering… all this pain… all because he was jealous of a wolf and his own sister?

Ian said exactly what Tem was thinking. "You know, for a mastermind, you're actually not that bright."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda

 **Once again this story was written by Empressimperia. It's close to the ending of the story or it is the ending, I have to talk to Empress about what this chapter is. Thank you for your support.**

XXX

Po and Tigress charged head on; Po struck the sheep's wooly chest with the back of his arm as Tigress's roundhouse kick slammed into his back. Most fights ended with this one attack. This decorated sheep, however, was an exception.

"I confess…" The sheep brushed off the dust form his fur. "Once there was a time that I was feebler than you." With one thrust of his hooves he shoved the two warriors to opposite sides of the room. "But now I may be considered a god." Tigress's training kicked in as she flew towards the floor. She hit the floor feet first and rolled into a stance. Po's recovery was far less graceful, his entire body rolling into the wall and leaving a massive dent before he got back up. They advanced again, joined by Ian and Tem as the four of them closed in.

This time they never got the chance to make contact. One nanosecond they were preparing to strike as one, the next they were floating in the air. With his hooves raised, the sheep slowly turned on the spot to face each of his helpless opponents, stopping when his hateful eyes laid on Tem. "Didn't I tell you?" He slammed his hooves together.

All four warriors slammed into each other with the force of clashing boulders before unceremoniously hitting the ground.

Po was the first to land, before Tigress bounced off his stomach and rolled to her feet again. Ian appeared to have landed badly on his shoulder, for he was having trouble pushing himself up. With one flick of his wrist, the sheep slammed Tigress into the wall and pinned her there. Po went to run over to her, but found himself frozen in place. He could feel whatever dark force the sheep possessed holding him in place.

"That's a big gut you've got there." The sheep had a very creepy look on his face. "Let's see just how heavy you really are."

Before Po knew it he was flying across the room like a cannonball, heading face-first for Tigress. In the split second he had he couldn't think of anything else to do other than throw his paws out. They cracked the wall on either side of Tigress's head. Po's elbows bent from the momentum. He closed his eyes as he braced for impact. He felt his stomach press into Tigress's hardened abdomen before relenting as momentum was lost. He felt her whiskers gently tickling his cheeks. He felt something soft and warm touching his lips.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Tigress's widened amber eyes staring back. Both pairs looked down to their interlocking lips.

Hearts pounding from the shocking outcome of the telekinetic assault, they forced their faces apart and turned to stare at the animal responsible. Hooves frozen in front of him, the sheep looked as stunned as they were.

Tem forced his shoulder back into his socket and smirked. "Did you actually intend to do that?"

There was a long pause from the sheep. "No."

Tem rotated his shoulder, rolled his eyes, and charged.

Tem knocked the sheep back with both fists, and Po and Tigress dropped to the floor as the telekinetic grip was broken. Ian gripped his shoulder and began murmuring unintelligible words.

The next few seconds were brutal. Both opponents blocked and traded lightning fast blows that aimed to kill, until the sheep slipped under a punch and jabbed his knuckles into Tem's chest. Tem would have rolled his eyes if he had the time. Instead he slammed his elbow down onto the sheep's skull. The sheep staggered back, clutching his skull.

Tem scowled. "What the hell are you smiling at?"

"Look down, you fool."

Tem risked a glance down. His veins turned to ice when he saw a black symbol etched into his chest. "What did you do to me?"

"The same as what I did to your people." The sheep flexed his fingers.

Ian had been about to attack at that moment, but he'd stopped when he'd felt his hourglass tattoo begin to grow cold. "Oh dear." He muttered.

The sheep chuckled cruelly. "You can't see it in the mortal realm, but that symbol is an invitation to commence the 'exchange.' If you ever return to the mortal realm, you will leave your mind behind, and in it's place, a useless mass of madness. But you can't stay here forever, can you?"

"You monster!" Tigress yelled and launched herself at the sheep. He threw a hoof out but she strafed to the side, feeling something invisible but solid rush past her. What he had just done to Tem went way beyond standard villainy. Her next attack would humiliate him. She would make sure of it. Her open paw slammed into the sheep's chest. She vaulted over his body and struck his shoulder. She managed to land a third blow on his chest again before an invisible hand knocked her to the ground.

"Four warriors are needed to defeat me…" He snarled, a black sword materializing in his hoof. "How can it be done if only three remain?"

"Tigress!" Po rushed to stop him. The sheep aimed a hoof, only for the panda to reach him without resistance and punch him right in the face. The sheep snarled and aimed his hoof again.

Po remained in his stance, standing between him and Tigress. Ian smiled as seconds passed and nothing happened. The sheep began to lose his evil grin as he stared at his hoof. His gaze travelled up to the bared pink patch on his shoulder. His hoof clutched at the bare patches on his chest as he glared at Tigress. "What have you done?"

Still on the ground, Tigress looked down at the three clumps of wool in her paw. Each clump had a symbol painted on.

"That's what I thought." Ian spoke. "Beneath that wretched dark magic, you're still just a sheep."

The sheep's face contorted as he summoned another sword. "Is that so?!" He lunged at the wildebeest with both blades, only for Ian to block the blows with both arms as he resumed his strange muttering. "Your defensive incantations will not help you for long!"

"It's called chanting, you ignoramus." Ian grabbed at a symbol on his forearm and kicked the sheep into the wall, the clump of wool ripping from his skin as he flew back. "It's good for maintaining focus."

The sheep growled and aimed his hoof at Ian. He held it out for a while. Ian looked down at the painted clump he was holding and smirked. "Like I said. Without these symbols you're just a sheep."

The sheep snarled and slammed his fist into the wall, cracking it like pottery. "So you've taken my magic, so what? I still have the strength to beat you to death. Every last one of you."

He charged at Ian, sending a flurry of blows so vicious there was nothing Ian could do but block.

"Po, Double Death Strike!" Tigress yelled.

"Ok, and do you think maybe after this we should talk about what happened with-"

"Not now!"

Po barely got a chance to react before she grabbed his arm and swung him at the sheep like a meteor hammer. The sheep was brutally slammed into the floor. Po planted his feet on the floor and swung Tigress next. Before the sheep could react she'd grabbed another symbol, which was ripped from his body as the panda pulled her back. She swung Po, who claimed another symbol off the sheep's arm. "Cut it out!" The sheep yelled as Tigress was yanked forward and snatched an eighth symbol.

Tem rushed over to Ian. "He said four warriors were needed to defeat him. What did he mean?"

"There's a reason it was four creature we fought." Before Ian could finish, the sheep charged and hit them both with his fists. They rolled across the floor, nearly hitting the wall again. Ian rubbed his jaw and scowled. "I'll explain after we defeat him."

Tem nodded. "Let me guess. We have to rip off all the symbols."

"All twenty of them, and we have twelve more to get." Ian touched his hourglass tattoo. "We'd better pick up the pace."

Tem eyed the five pink patches the sheep now bore. "Oh man… this is gonna be good…"

He and the sheep charged at each other, colliding in the middle of the room. They ducked and dodged each other, one aiming to kill, and one aiming for the symbols.

"You never should have touched my sister!" The sheep snarled.

"If you really cared about her…" Tem ducked a punch and ripped another symbol from his enemy's chest. "You wouldn't have disgraced her with this vile magic trick!"

"Magic trick?!" The sheep socked him hard. "You don't know how many pockets I had to line to find this place! The tongues I had to loosen to know how to get inside. The sick things I had to do to get those beasts under my control!"

"Don't you consider trying to wipe out an entire species sick?" Po asked.

"He defiled my sister and disgraced our family! That is sick!"

"Enough of this!" Tigress yelled. "Everyone, take him down!"

Po and Tigress charged at the same time Tem resumed his fight with the sheep. He ducked a blow. Blocked another. Suffered a third to the face, knocking him to the floor. In a nanosecond the sheep was on top of him, fist reared back to spread the wolf's brains all over the place. Po grabbed the fist before the sheep could bring it down. Before the sheep could retaliate Tigress grabbed the other. Together the warriors forced the sheep to the floor and pinned him there.

"Tem! Ian! Get the symbols!" Tigress said.

They didn't need telling twice. One by one they ripped the symbols from the sheep's body, their captive screaming vile curses and threats all the while. They took the six symbols that still remained on the sheep's chest. Two from his left am and shoulder and two from his right.

Tem locked eyes with the sheep as he gripped the final symbol on the tuft of wool atop his forehead. He saw rage, hate and despair. The wolf didn't say a word as he ripped off the symbol.

After the sudden rip, the chamber was silent. Even the sheep had stopped cursing. He just stared at the ceiling, stunned at his defeat.

"Nothing happened." Po said. "Was something supposed to happen? Nothing happened!"

"We just finished the hard part." Ian said. He jabbed some nerve points to paralyze the sheep so Po and Tigress could release him. "Do you know exactly what these symbols are?"

"Yeah, they're magic symbols." Po said.

"These are the manifestations of the spiritual energy of the four beings we defeated." Ian explained. "Spiritual energy manifests quite differently in this realm. In the mortal realm the energy would look a lot like chi. Our genocidal friend here must have used this energy to perform the ritual that caused the madness."

"So what? We use this energy to reverse the effects?" Tem asked.

"Exactly. Luckily for your people, there is another ritual that does just that. It's actually I came along. Not only am I the only one of us who knows this ritual, a minimum of four mammals is required to perform it without killing ourselves in the process."

Tem felt himself relax for the first time since entering this realm. "Okay. What do we need to do?"

"First, we collect all the symbols we extracted and divide them equally among the four of us." The other three warriors scattered, picking up all twenty clumps of wool before returning to the center. While they worked, Ian dragged the sheep to the very middle of the room.

Once they each had five clumps wool in hand, Ian informed them of the part they each played in the ritual. The formation of the ritual was based on the four holy animals of Taoist lore, and each animal must be represented for the ritual to work. Po, the 'Azure Dragon,' was positioned to the east of the sheep. Tigress, the 'White Tiger', stood to the west. Tem was chosen to stand to the south as the 'Vermillion Bird,' and Ian stood to the north as the 'Black Tortoise.'

"Okay, now what?" Tem asked anxiously.

"Place the symbols in a line from yourself to the… what is his name, Tem?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"To the sheep, then."

They did as they were told, Ian included. "Now what?" Tigress asked.

"All four of us are of mortal blood and chi. Our bodies and souls will act as conduits to draw the madness from the souls still in the mortal realm. The energy in the symbols will then direct the madness into the sheep in exchange for the victims' sanity."

"What?" Po looked down at the sheep with worry.

"As the perpetrator of the first ritual, the sheep must take back what he has wrought. It will not affect him immediately, I assure you. But if he ever returns to the mortal realm, his sanity will be forfeit. It is the only way."

"That's awful!"

Ian did not look nearly as sympathetic. "Most black magic comes with a price, Dragon Warrior. This is his."

Po grimaced, but nodded and didn't say another word.

"What do we do, now?" Tigress asked.

"Now you hold still." Ian lowered his head, clasped his hooves together, and began to chant.

It wasn't long until something began to happen. Tem felt his brain begin to feel fuzzy, as if it were being filled with hot chunky soup. Judging from the weird looks on Tigress and Po's faces, they were feeling the same sensation. Po must have found it particularly unpleasant, for Tem saw his paw lift up to touch Tigress' wrist. Tigress did not move her arm away. Looking barely fazed himself, Ian increased the pace of his chanting. The first symbol in front of Tem began to glow, as did the first symbols in front of the others. One by one the symbols lit up like stars, moving inwards towards the sheep. When all twenty symbols were lit, the strange sensation in Tem's head began to fade. Then the symbols directly in front of the four warriors turned dark again. Then the next symbols in line turned dark. One by one the symbols lost their light, in complete reversal of the first stage of the ritual. When all the symbols were dark, the sheep's patchy chest glowed. A symbol identical to the one he had inflicted on Tem formed on the pink skin. The glow faded, leaving the symbol as a dark mark on the sheep's chest.

Ian stopped chanting, his expression solemn. "It is done. If he ever attempts to return to the mortal realm, he will lose what little sanity he has left. This realm is his prison now."

"Good." Tem turned away from the paralyzed sheep. "So it's over? Are my people cured?"

Ian smiled. "Yes, Tem. Within a day every last one of them will be back to normal. They won't even remember what happened to them."

"Thank heavens." Tem breathed, at the same time feeling the weight rise from his shoulders. If Ian said it was over, then it was over. "Let's leave this place. There is someone I must return to."

"I'm not going anywhere." Ian said.

They all turned to stare at him. "What?" Po asked.

"Those were not demons that we had fought, Dragon Warrior. They were the guardians of this realm. Until they are reborn, someone must guard this realm in their place."

Tigress pointed at the hourglass tattoo. "But you'll be trapped here forever."

Ian shook his head, still smiling. "No. You would be trapped here forever. I, however, have been well trained in the rituals and techniques needed to traverse realms. I can come and go as I please."

Po scratched his head, looking like he felt a bit better about this. "Soooo… how long will it take for those guardians to be reborn?"

"I'm not sure. A year, three years, a decade. But we all have our purpose in this whole affair, and this is mine." He glanced at the hourglass. "It is time for you to go."

"You bring great honor upon your people, Ian." Tigress saluted Ian as he began to chant.

"As do you, Master Tigress."

"I can come and visit, right?" Po asked quickly.

"I suppose, though I would recommend spending more time with your lady friend."

"Thank you for everything you have done." Tem said.

Ian aimed a hoof at the floor beneath them. "Take care of your loved ones, Tem."

Tem had just enough to salute him before the portal opened up beneath them.

Po was having the time of his life. He and Tigress had barely been back home in the Jade Palace for a week before the gifts started coming in.

After the wolves' sanity had been restored, it didn't take for word to get out as to who was responsible for their salvation. To show their gratitude they send baskets of produce numbering in the dozens, to the point where even the palace's substantial storage room couldn't hold them all. Po was all too happy to store some of the baskets in his own room.

Two days had passed since they returned home, and Po was down to his last two baskets. With training done for the day, he'd taken Crane's advice to catch up on his calligraphy. With a bowl of bean buns made from the baskets' contents, he absent-mindedly dabbed and drew with his brush, looking up when the door slid open.  
Tigress looked at the two full baskets that sat at the front of the mountain of empty baskets behind the panda.

"Unbelievable."

"Shifu's making me fast for a week tomorrow. I need all the fuel I can get." Po replied.

"Right. How's your calligraphy going?" Tigress sat down beside him.

"Going great." Po felt more than a little hot under the collar at how close she was. Thoughts of a certain incident during their time in that other realm came to mind. "So… heck of a mission, huh?"

Tigress leaned back on her paws. "Tell me about it."

"Sooo… have you thought about what happened?"

He thought he saw the faintest blush on her cheeks. "Yes. Yes, I have. I see you've been thinking about it, too."

"What makes you think that?"

Tigress tapped the pile of papers beside them. "The picture of you and me with three little striped pandas kind of clued me in."

"Oh, okay. Tell you what. Give me a few minutes to die of embarrassment and we'll talk about dating."

"That reminds me. We just received an invitation for Tem's wedding two weeks from now. What do you say, Po?"

For a week and a half, Ian meditated.

It was rather quiet in the realm without his allies or the original four guardians, so there wasn't much to do except sit in the middle of the floor and clear his mind. More than anything he wanted to clear his mind of boredom.

The realm itself didn't provide much in terms of simulation. Soon after he'd sent his friends back to the mortal realm, the sadistic paintings of suffering wolves had disappeared, leaving the rooms bare until its rightful inhabitants returned. When they did, the realm's new décor was sure to be less disturbing. As monstrous as the four guardians had been in appearance, Ian knew for a fact that they weren't truly malicious. Otherwise they would be seeing supernatural plagues a lot more often.

It wasn't all mind-numbing silence and sitting on one's buttocks all day. Ian had been able to use fragments of rock from the cracked wall to burn the clumps of wool and release the guardians' energy from the symbols. Soon after the paralysis wore off on the decadent sheep, and by gods was he ticked. The second after he spotted the smoldering remains of his power source, he'd charged at the wildebeest head on. Ian had just thrown him back. Then he'd thrown him back again. And again. And again. After the twenty-first attempted attack Ian had began to wonder if he'd been wrong about the madness only taking hold if he ever returned to the mortal realm.

After attack number thirty-four, Ian had just settled for paralyzing the punk again and tying him up with pieces of his own pants. Then the paralysis wore off, and the onslaught on insults and curses was so distracting that Ian had to tear off one more strip to use as a gag. Then he'd moved himself to the farthest room and resumed his meditation.

He decided that now would be a good time to see how his friends were faring. He closed his eyes once more and chanted for a few seconds before a vision came to the fore.

The first thing he saw was the Dragon Warrior at a noodle shop run by a middle-aged goose the panda had claimed to be his father. He was chopping radishes with Mr. Ping, talking ecstatically about the upcoming wedding he would soon be attending with Tigress. That drove Tem to his next vision; in the Hall of Warriors, Tigress was bickering with the red panda he knew to be Master Shifu. Tigress was doing her best to be respectful towards her master as she futilely protested having to wear a dress to the wedding. Ian chuckled to himself as he changed his vision to the soon to be newlyweds.

He saw Tem and his lover, the sister of the trussed up sheep in the other room, sitting on a hill overlooking their village. They were the only ones up there, and they in a close, mutual embrace. What did Tem say her name was? Lotus, Lei Lei…

Lelly. He'd said her name was Lelly.

Ian looked closer, and saw tears in Lelly's eyes. Tem lowered his muzzle and whispered how sorry he was. He must have told her about what her brother had done. Ian had little sympathy for her brother, but his heart ached for the sister. He had experienced many things, but the pain of a loved one's betrayal was not one of them.  
After some time Lelly wiped her eyes and replied that her parents would likely disown him if he ever showed his face again. Tem told her that would be unlikely, but left out what would happen if he left the other realm. That would likely be more than his lover could take.

More time passed, before they turned the conversation back to the wedding. Ian waited until they mentioned the date, three days from now, before deciding to end it there and give them back their privacy.

From what he'd heard, the village was planning to make a wedding a blast. It was a shame he'd have to miss it.  
He was most relieved when the first guardian materialized in front of him and asked for the animal responsible for their enslavement.

Tem had thought that the day he returned to the mortal realm to find his brethren restored to normal was the best of day his life. He should have realized sooner that it was merely the best day of his life so far.

The ceremony took place a fortnight after he returned to his village. Just as Ian had predicted, the villager remembered nothing of their madness; all they could recall was long, deep, cold sleep. However, they still expected an explanation for the injuries and damage they'd woken up to. Tem had made the choice to tell them the truth, explaining everything except who exactly was responsible. He would no chances of endangering Lelly by associating her family with that mess.

Speaking of which, Lelly had been right. As soon as her parents had gotten over the shock of learning that their own son had been responsible for the pandemic, they'd declared that he was no son of theirs. They had then given their blessing for the marriage in exchange for him taking the secret to his grave. Not that they'd disapproved beforehand, thank heavens. That had probably been a factor in Lelly's brother's break from sanity, however, knowing that even his parents had approved of the 'stain' on their honor.

Whatever, Tem thought, his thoughts turning to a small group of villagers he'd encountered on his back way to his home, where tradition dictated the ceremony would take place. They'd pointed at the house of his bride to be and snickered behind their hooves and paws.

Tem had wasted no time. He'd walked up to them, paused for effect, and then took a swing at them, stopping a inch from the face of the pig who'd laughed the loudest. After that he'd told them that the next time they laughed at Lelly would be the last time he'd hold back.

Then he'd excused himself and went to greet Po and Tigress outside the local inn. He'd been overjoyed when they'd accepted his invitation and arrived the day before, and now he was more than a little amused to see Tigress scowling in her emerald green gown. As for Po, he just blushed as he sneaked one glance after another.  
Tem shook his head and chuckled when Po took another glance at her dress. That panda wouldn't be able to hide his feelings forever.

Almost certainly faking her ignorance of Po checking her out, Tigress lost her blush when she spotted something over Tem's shoulder. "You have to be kidding."

Tem turned round to see the last animal he expected striding through the village gates.

He grinned from ear to ear.

A year, five years, a decade, his arse.

"Glad you could make it, Ian."


End file.
